Nigeria’s Police Service Commission Outlines Path for State Policing Reform
ABUJA — The Police Service Commission (PSC) has presented a strategic roadmap for the implementation of state policing in Nigeria, urging a foundational review of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as the country advances plans to establish subnational policing structures.
The development followed a working visit to the PSC headquarters by the Committee for the Implementation of State Police, led by its Chairman, Professor Olu Ogunsakin. The PSC Board, chaired by DIG Hashimu Salihu Argungu (rtd), engaged the delegation on the complex institutional and legal adjustments required.
According to Torty Njoku Kalu, the PSC’s Head of Protocol and Public Affairs, the Committee’s visit aimed to leverage the Commission’s institutional memory and expertise, given its constitutional role in overseeing the NPF.
Professor Ogunsakin described the Committee’s mandate as “monumental,” explicitly seeking the PSC’s guidance. “We cannot do it alone without tapping into the wisdom of the PSC. We are here to benefit from your knowledge to review the landscape, structure, and foundation that will assist the Nigeria Police Force moving forward,” he stated, praising DIG Argungu as a “fountain of knowledge.”
In response, DIG Argungu provided a detailed, phased approach for actualising effective state policing. He urged the Committee to first diagnose the root causes driving the demand for state police and to critically examine lessons from past reform challenges. “Find out what went wrong that necessitated the quest for the creation of state police,” he advised.
His recommendations included clarifying the jurisdictional delineation between federal and state offences, distinguishing between public crimes and private wrongs, and comprehensively reviewing obsolete laws to align with 21st-century realities. He further stressed the importance of comparative analysis, suggesting the Committee study countries with established state or regional police models to adapt relevant lessons to Nigeria’s unique federal context. DIG Argungu assured the Committee it should request additional time to ensure a thorough and effective outcome.
The Committee’s formal mandate is to propose a comprehensive operational framework for the establishment and coordination of state police structures. This framework will cover critical areas including recruitment protocols, standardized training curricula, equipment, and equitable resource allocation mechanisms between federal and state levels.
The PSC’s intervention underscores the scale of institutional re-engineering required. Nigeria’s current policing architecture is centrally controlled under the federal government, a structure often cited as overstretched and disconnected from local security dynamics. The push for state policing aims to bring law enforcement closer to communities but raises significant questions about funding, command integrity, and potential fragmentation.
The dialogue between the implementation Committee and the PSC signals a recognition that successful decentralisation depends on addressing deep-seated structural and legal deficiencies. The proposed roadmap from the PSC is expected to form the bedrock of the Committee’s final report to the Federal Executive Council, shaping the future of internal security in Africa’s most populous nation.
